Faroe Islands forms new centre-right government coalition

A new coalition government has been formed in the Faroe Islands, uniting two centre-right parties with a social democratic party under Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen, the Faroese broadcaster DR reports.

Beinir Johannesen, leader of the conservative Fólkaflokkurin (People’s Party), will head the government alongside the centre-right Sambandsflokkurin (Union Party) and the social democratic Javnaðarflokkurin (Social Democratic Party). The three parties jointly announced the agreement at a press conference on Thursday morning local time.

Johannesen, 29, stated that traditional bloc politics were now “a thing of the past,” according to Faroese media outlet dagur.fo. The coalition holds 24 of the 33 seats in the Faroese parliament, the Løgting, securing a majority following elections on 26 March.

Fólkaflokkurin emerged as the largest party with 26.7% of the vote and seven seats, placing Johannesen at the forefront of coalition negotiations. The new government’s policy platform was presented at Thursday’s press conference.